Variations 詠唱調

奧利弗-克努森的鋼琴變奏曲創作於 1989 年，由彼得-瑟金首演。這部作品雖然簡潔明瞭--十二首變奏曲總共演奏了六分多鐘--但作曲家在非常有限的原始素材（主題本身就是前六個音符的變奏）中融入了一些對比強烈的紋理和表現手法，並採用了三段式的戲劇設計：最初的五組性格變奏曲、包含四首變奏曲的中央過門，以及作為全曲尾聲的最後一組三首更類似於練習曲的變奏曲"

作曲家: Knussen, Oliver
樂器: Piano
出版社: Faber Music
原文簡介:
Oliver Knussen’s Variations for piano were composed in 1989 and premiered by Peter Serkin. Although they are concise – the twelve variations play for a little more than six minutes in all – the composer integrates some highly contrasted textural and expressive approaches to a very limited amount of raw material (the theme is itself variations on its first six notes) within a three-part dramatic design: an initial group of five character-variations, a central passacaglia enclosing four more variations, and a final set of three, more etude-like variations functioning as coda to the whole. ‘A chiming, clangorous exercise in compression, without a wasted note.’ Newsday (Tim Page), 13 November 1989 ‘Among the densest six minutes of music ever written, as massive textures collapse into delicate gestures and tiny phrases transform into huge outbursts. Knussen’s models while composing the piece were sets of variations by Webern, Stravinsky and Copland. His own set belings in the same company.’ The Guardian (Tom Service), 4 November 2002